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Muscle weight gain

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daterminedfatburnerX
daterminedfatburnerX Posts: 346 Member
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I was wondering if any of you have experienced more weight gain from weight training.
I lift weights and I notice I gain weight more from muscle. I'm guessing because i have high levels of testosterone.
It's been really frustrating to lose weight. I'm wondering if il ever lose some fat. My body is the same I feel stronger but I weight more. X.x plus my inches increase little by little.

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  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    How long have you been lifting, and what does your routine look like? Have you kept track of your eating to make sure you're eating the right amount?

    Muscle is more dense than fat, so you should be losing inches, even if the scale weight is going up, provided you're not overeating. The exception to this is if you've just gotten started in the past month or two, in which case "newbie gains" might create some muscle gain that outpaces fat loss, depending on your workout routine.

    Additionally, muscle mass is really hard to gain, even for guys, let alone women, even those of us with elevated testosterone. To compare, our testosterone may be high compared to the normal level for women, but is only about equivalent to an 11 year old boy ( http://www.healthline.com/health/low-testosterone/testosterone-levels-by-age ).

    I took a peek at your diary and noticed it was empty. You might want to log your food for about a week and see if you're eating the right amount and the right foods.
  • A_Dabauer
    A_Dabauer Posts: 212 Member
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    I've a very similar question...

    I'm 5'3" and I've a large frame, (confirmed by a dietitian I'm off the top end for a lady)
    I've PCOS, and have extremely high testosterone levels
    I naturally carry a lot of bulky muscle

    Current Stats
    I'm 205lbs (give or take depending on the day)
    I've 44% body fat (taken on my fitbit scale, which isn't the most accurate measure)
    Giving me a lean body mass of about 115lbs
    I wear a Large or XL top, and size 14 ladies pants

    Most Recent Low Stats
    165lbs
    19% Body fat (done with calipers by a professional)
    Giving me a lean body mass of about 135lbs
    Wore a medium to large top, and size 10 pants

    At the time of my 19% body fat I was very active but didn't do any weight lifting I was doing boot camp type classes that only used your own body weight as resistance.

    Over the last few years I've become very inactive due to a chronic pain issue that recently has been resolved. I'd like to put back on at least some of that 20lbs of lean body mass I've lost while being sick. As well, of course, loosing the weight I've gained.

    This is my question, I've always shied away from lifting as I've been scared to get too bulky, since naturally I've bulky muscles as well as I've high testosterone levels. Does anyone have similar experiences with lifting in a similar situation?
  • jmzz1
    jmzz1 Posts: 670 Member
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    Bump
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    I've a very similar question...

    I'm 5'3" and I've a large frame, (confirmed by a dietitian I'm off the top end for a lady)
    I've PCOS, and have extremely high testosterone levels
    I naturally carry a lot of bulky muscle

    Current Stats
    I'm 205lbs (give or take depending on the day)
    I've 44% body fat (taken on my fitbit scale, which isn't the most accurate measure)
    Giving me a lean body mass of about 115lbs
    I wear a Large or XL top, and size 14 ladies pants

    Most Recent Low Stats
    165lbs
    19% Body fat (done with calipers by a professional)
    Giving me a lean body mass of about 135lbs
    Wore a medium to large top, and size 10 pants

    At the time of my 19% body fat I was very active but didn't do any weight lifting I was doing boot camp type classes that only used your own body weight as resistance.

    Over the last few years I've become very inactive due to a chronic pain issue that recently has been resolved. I'd like to put back on at least some of that 20lbs of lean body mass I've lost while being sick. As well, of course, loosing the weight I've gained.

    This is my question, I've always shied away from lifting as I've been scared to get too bulky, since naturally I've bulky muscles as well as I've high testosterone levels. Does anyone have similar experiences with lifting in a similar situation?

    As I stated previously:
    Additionally, muscle mass is really hard to gain, even for guys, let alone women, even those of us with elevated testosterone. To compare, our testosterone may be high compared to the normal level for women, but is only about equivalent to an 11 year old boy ( http://www.healthline.com/health/low-testosterone/testosterone-levels-by-age ).

    In other words, if you don't want to get bulky, then don't do a routine and diet designed for building big muscles. Our testosterone levels are only elevated compared to what the norm is for women.

    Even guys, who have orders of magnitude more testosterone than we do (yes, even those of us with elevated testosterone due to PCOS) have to work hard, for a very long time, to get a bodybuilder's physique. You cannot do it by accident, and it's sure as hell not going to happen over night, nor will it happen if you're not eating to support such lean mass building (ie - at a surplus).

    So, eat at maintenance or a slight deficit, and do a program like StrongLifts or other low-rep/high-weight, progressive load routine. You'll build strength, without a lot of gains in mass (there will be some lean mass gains as kind of a requirement, but we're not talking turning into She-Hulk, here -- your measurements will ultimately go down).
  • eranganm8
    eranganm8 Posts: 37 Member
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    interesting
  • A_Dabauer
    A_Dabauer Posts: 212 Member
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    Thanks for the response.

    Lifting is something I want to explore especially as I feel weak as of late, when in the past I always was the "strong" girl. However I know from experience I do build muscle bulk very quickly. At 5'3" having a 135lb lean body mass it pretty high without doing any lifting. But you're right my measurements weren't indicative of my weight. And I've always blamed it on the testosterone but could as easy be genetics, my dad is built like a body builder, and has never lifted a weight in his life.

    Thanks for the encouragement :)

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